Phil Collins to Quit the Music Biz?

Following a spinal injury that occurred a few years ago during a Genesis reunion tour, notable soft rocker Phil Collinsquashed rumours that he had hung up his drum sticks for good. Back in 2009, he admitted that he could no longer play percussion due to the injury, but said that he would re-evaluate the situation a little further down the line.

"Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano," he said at the time. "I am not in any 'distressed' state, stuff happens in life."

It's now been two years since the injury and Collins has made a tentative decision: he's contemplating bowing out of the music biz. But not for the reason you might think. While he says he still has problems with his hands, the aging rocker just feels he has no place in today's industry.

"I look at the MTV Music Awards and I think: 'I can't be in the same business as this,'" Collins recently told FHM [via the Telegraph]. "I don't really belong to that world and I don't think anyone's going to miss me. I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely. I'll go on a mysterious biking holiday and never return. That would be a great way to end the story, wouldn't it?"

If he were to bow out now, it would be the end of a 40-year career that saw him first get noticed as the manic drummer for prog gods Genesis during the Peter Gabriel years before taking lead vocal duties in the mid-'70s following Gabriel's departure. Collins went on to massive solo career in the '80s, dropping hits like "Sussudio" and "In the Air Tonight" along the way.

UPDATE: Since our initial report, a Phil Collins spokesperson has said: "He is not, has no intention of, retiring." Still, the singer has revealed no future plans in music.

UPDATE 2: Apparently, Collins and his publicist are not on the same page. Collins has now issued a statement confirming that he is indeed retiring. His full statement is on his website.